CALGARY—A big gain on the sale of its Esso gas stations last year swelled profits for Imperial Oil Ltd., but operating performance at its newest oilsands mining project disappointed analysts. But Imperial fell short of expectations for the last three months of 2016 on overall production, which fell to 399,000 barrels of oil equivalent (boe/d) per day from 400,000 boe/d in the same period of 2015. Its reported output averaged just 120,000 barrels per day (bpd) at its Kearl oilsands mine in northern Alberta in the fourth quarter versus 144,000 bpd in the last three months of 2015. The Kearl project, 29 per cent owned by Imperial’s U.S. parent, ExxonMobil, has a capacity of 220,000 bpd. Its 110,000-bpd first phase has been producing bitumen since spring 2013 and first oil at its expansion project was achieved in mid-2015.

Source: thestar January 31, 2017 17:39 UTC